BehindBlueI's
Grandmaster
- Oct 3, 2012
- 25,958
- 113
How do you solve the issue of Smithfield exporting meat to China when there is a shortage here?
If you want the free market answer, pay more.
If you want the government regulated answer, export duties and restrictions. ITAR for pork, if you like. If you weren't aware, there's already restrictions on what meats can and can't be imported/exported and by who. I couldn't bring Iberian hams home with me, nor can I take fruit into Canada so this isn't exactly ground breaking territory.
However do you buy a lot of pig kidney?
"Much of what is exported are items that attract little or no interest from domestic consumers like offal and underutilized muscle cuts," said Keira Lombardo, Smithfield Foods Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs." For the most part, the U.S. does not export packaged meats products like bacon, ham and sausage.”
Offal are meat cuts made with the internal organs of an animal, including kidneys, tripe, and tongue.
“Specific to Sioux Falls, 100% of what is exported to China is offal," Lombardo said. "No packaged meats products at all are shipped to China."